Tag Archives for " Success "

In the sports world we define so many great athletes and coaches not only by wins & losses, but also by championships.

Can you imagine being a football coach who takes your team to the super Bowl 4 years in a row and you are still labeled as a loser by many only because you didn’t walk away with the trophy? It happened to Marv Levy as coach of the Buffalo Bills. In one of those games, the outcome would have been a win if a field goal kick had been just 2 feet in the other direction.

Bud Grant was the coach of the Minnesota Vikings who also lost 4 Super Bowls. Was he a loser?

Many great coaches have only gone to the Super Bowl once. Because they walked away with the trophy that one time, we label them as winners.

But think about it. Do you realize how hard it is to get the Super Bowl even once? How about taking your team four times? Very few coaches have ever done that. So are they losers? I would say not.

In Hebrews 11, there is a list we often refer to as God’s Hall of Fame. In verses 36-39 there are a group of people who aren’t even named. They were virtual unknowns who never saw their reward on earth. No recognition, no pats on the back, no rewards. In fact, the polar opposite. But God was watching, and eventually God made it right. In verse 40, it says “God provided something better…”

And today while many still consider Marv Levy and Bud Grant losers, they did get elected to the Football Hall of Fame. Because there are those who recognize their true value as winners.

Guess what? You may be smart, loaded with talent, and loaded with skill. But the circumstances around you just are not in your favor. You may feel like you are losing your own personal “Super Bowl”. But you are not a loser. Keep on keeping on and stay in the game. God is keeping score.

One of life’s recurring questions is “What should I be doing with my life?”. Perhaps a better question is “How has God designed me?”.

What if we looked at our makeup from six vantage points? That is, what if we could discern in a practical way how God made us?

Let’s take a closer look at David and see how this plays out from a practical viewpoint.

Desire. All of us have desires or passions. When David met Goliath, David had a passion for the glory of God. He simply could not tolerate anyone disparaging the name of God.

1 Samuel 17:45-47 (NLT)

45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47 And everyone assembled here will know that theLord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is theLord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

David was frustrated that someone would speak about God the way Goliath did.

Experience. David spent many lonely nights out in the field leading and protecting the sheep. We find out later that he had actually killed both a lion and a bear barehanded. Those experiences would soon prove valuable. He had no experience wearing the attire of a soldier, so he resorted to his experience with the sling.

1 Samuel 17:38-39 (NLT)

38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39 David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.

“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again.

However, David had a lot of experience with a sling. David was able to use that experience to kill the giant.

Spiritual Gifts. Rather than paint David into a corner, it becomes obvious that he has the gift of leadership. He does things leaders do. He takes the initiative. He takes responsibility. He casts a daunting vision.

Romans 12:6-8 (NLT) lists several spiritual gifts. The list is not exhaustive, but it does give you an idea. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

I will only comment on the gift of leadership since space here is limited. As a leader David took his responsibility seriously.

In my next post we’ll look at the remaining components of your profile.

This is a guest post by my 17-year-old son, Gabe Henderson.
He's in 11th grade and wrote this article for a school assignment.
His interests include skiing and golf, and he runs a Minecraft server in his spare time.

Have you ever wanted to do something big, but all you get are little jobs? Frustration is understandable. We love doing the big things because we get more recognition that way. And of course, we love recognition, so the big, important things are typically what we strive to do.

If you find yourself suffering from a lack of recognition, then you should meet David.
The Israelites had a major problem: a group called the Philistines who lived nearby. They were a cruel, barbaric faction that seemed to enjoy attacking them. Eventually, King Saul of Israel took his army out to fight the Philistines, but the Philistines had a secret weapon — a giant man named Goliath. Goliath fought the terrified Israelites single-handedly.

King Saul himself was scared, but who wouldn’t be? Goliath was so terrifying that he could only be described as monstrous. The reward for killing the giant was great. So great in fact, that anyone would be after it, right? Wrong. Everyone in Saul’s army was afraid after watching many others be defeated by the giant. It wasn’t just Goliath’s monstrous strength, but his stature. Goliath stood over nine feet tall, and he wore the best armor that the Philistines could offer. No Israelite had enough confidence to volunteer…until David came along.

David was not a soldier. He just took care sheep, all day, every day. As a shepherd, he spent his days out in fields protecting his sheep from harm and from wild animals. While that may sound exciting, it wasn’t an everyday thing for sheep to be attacked. It was more likely that they would wander off, and he would have to retrieve them.

David’s brothers, however, were on the battlefront, where David thought they were fighting for the good of Israel. Unfortunately, the giant Goliath stopped all progress in that area. This was unknown to David’s father, who instructed him to take some food rations out to his brothers. Upon arrival, David heard the shouts of Goliath. Of course, the shouts were not very friendly. They were mostly taunts toward Israel, mocking everything from their manhood to God himself.

David was outraged. It was because of his lowly job of shepherding that David had the confidence to say, “I will stop this giant. My God and I will do it!” After all, several times in his career as a shepherd, David was protected by God from animals like lions or bears. This gave David the confidence that God would protect him.

That’s exactly what happened. David went to a stream, and found five, perfect stones. He took one of the stones, put it into his slingshot, and met Goliath on the battlefield. Goliath roared with scorn when he saw the puny David approaching. David took no notice of the taunts, and simply hurled his stone at the giant. A soft “plunk” was heard, and then Goliath was no longer boasting, but falling. Falling face forward into the dirt and showing no signs of getting back up. David had won.

What about you? Do you feel like God only wants you to do small things that nobody notices? It just may be that God is using these small jobs to prepare you for something great. 1 Corinthians 10 says “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” It worked for David, and it’s the best way for you to live your life, too.

The story of how Starbucks almost went away, in fact it’s stock price was well below $10 a share, and how it recovered to where it is profitable and how it’s current stock price is at $60, is in one word, fascinating.

This is a great read for any individual or organizational leader to read. The quotes that I have included will just give you a taste of what’s in the book. Also, another word that describes the book is hope. The light had almost gone out at Starbucks.

While my copy is highlighted and dog-eared all over, I have chosen just a few quotes to give you an idea of what’s in the book. In the following quotes I have italicized some key words.

9. “Every time a barista had to tell a customer, ‘Sorry, we’re out of vanilla syrup’ or ‘We didn’t receive our banana shipment so I can’t make your Vivanno,’ the fragile trust between Starbucks and our partners and between Starbucks and our customers fractured.”

14. “…the more critical the times, the more important it is…to work together in a non-political, non-emotional, fact-focused way.” p. 221

15. “Although I never stopped believing that Starbucks would emerge from the darkness, I was nonetheless experiencing an emotional roller coaster daily.” p. 222

16. “And while I would not want to constantly battle against the odds, the raw feeling of accomplishing something that others did not think possible, or leading people beyond where they thought they could go, is extremely gratifying.” 302

Onward was one of my favorite books not long ago. I purchased it as soon as it came out and devoured it within the week. It’s the story of how Starbucks almost went away with a worsening economy and internal troubles.

However, the former CEO, Howard Schultz, came back as CEO and began to once again oversee the day to day operations.

Today Starbucks’ stock price has increased almost ten-fold from its low. It has once again returned to profitability. Since I go there regularly, their story has always intrigued me.

The book is a great read as it covers the decision making, the store closings, and also the elimination of some of its people. On the one hand I’m sure many felt that Schultz went about it the wrong way. For some it could appear that he was unnecessarily ruthless at times. But Starbucks had lost its way, and someone had to right the ship. Howard Schultz was the man to do it.

I have included twenty quotes that sort of summarize the decisions, the emotional turmoil, and the process that brought Starbucks back. Rather than include all twenty in one post, I will break it into two posts with several highlights in each post. These are all the words of Howard Schultz.

1. “There are moments in our lives when we summon the courage to make choices that go against reason, against common sense and the wise counsel of people we trust.” p. 7

2. “What upset me, what felt like a blow to the gut, was the leak. I could not imagine who would do such a thing. It was nothing less than betrayal. In my life I place enormous value on loyalty and trust.” p. 27

3. “Saying good-bye to people when they leave Starbucks never gets easier, even when I think it is the right choice for the company, and especially when I truly respect the individual.” p. 60

4. “Did we have the right people with the right skills in place for everything that needed attention.” p.77

5. “Our coffee and marketing departments went out and conducted their own taste tests to gain a definitive understanding of what many consumers really wanted in lieu of a bold brew–not what we assumed they wanted, which was a weak, inferior coffee. What we heard, what many people told us, was that they wanted Starbucks to sell a more consistent, balanced brewed coffee.” p. 85

6. “Closing so many stores felt like a defeat, even if it was the right thing to ensure the company’s health.” p. 152

7. “Success is not sustainable if it’s defined by how big you become. Large numbers that once motivated me–40,000 stores!–are not what matter. The only number that matters is ‘one.’ One cup. One customer. One partner. One experience at a time.” p. 156

8. “I know people are angry and grieving and I know people are mad. But I had to make the difficult choice (and consider) the long-term sustainability of the company.” p. 172

Obviously being at the top can be emotionally draining and incredibly challenging.

In my next post I will add some more quotes and lessons from a great comeback.

Mark is best known for being the writer of the Gospel of Mark. That in itself would put him in the winner’s circle. Can you imagine being one of forty different authors whom God chose to write the Bible? I cannot even imagine. What an honor. What a privilege. What a WIN!

Winning is fun. Winning alleviates a lot of pain. It makes you forget about your losses.

But Mark didn’t start out in the winner’s circle.

Actually he started out in the loser’s circle.

We first meet Mark in Acts 12:12 when the church met in his mother’s home. Mark must have showed some promise because when Paul and Barnabas set out on their first missionary journey, Mark accompanied them. It didn’t last long, however. For whatever reason Mark left and went home (Acts 13:13).

A few years later when Paul and Barnabas set out on another journey, Barnabas was ready to give Mark another chance. But Paul was not so keen on the idea. Perhaps he thought Mark was lazy, uncommitted, or lacked the necessary skills. He may not have been up to the travel physically. We don’t know.

Although I don’t know how Mark felt, I know to be rejected by Paul had to hurt deeply. Rejection is never easy, but to be rejected by one of your heros multiplies the pain.

A sharp disagreement ensued, and Barnabas wound up leaving Paul and sailing to Cyprus with Mark. Evidently it got pretty heated. “And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.’ 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus” (Acts 15:36-39 ESV). Paul is vehemently saying, “I don’t want him on my team.” OUCH!

Towards the end of Paul’s life he writes to Timothy and asks him to bring Mark with him. In 2 Timothy 4:11 he says, “Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.”

As you can see, Mark is now considered valuable to the apostle Paul. I’d call that a win.

Clearly there were some hard feelings earlier, but these two men overcame those and were once again a team.

You need to understand Paul’s high estimation of Mark at this point. He is a lonely man since everyone but Luke has left him. To consider Mark very useful at this point says a lot about Mark. This was the guy who bailed earlier. Paul was not afraid of that now. Obviously Mark had grown personally over the years, and Paul noticed. Quite possibly Barnabas, Mark’s older cousin, was a huge inspiration to Mark’s personal development.

What did Mark do? What can we do in order to arrive in the winner’s circle?

1. Never give up on yourself.

There are only 32 NFL head coaches. It’s hard to believe you can actually make it into that elite group and be considered a loser. But some are. That’s how hard life can be.

One reason I love football is that there are so many parallels to life within the sport. For one, attitude plays such a huge role among NFL coaches. They all experience losing. Yet they all act like winners. How? Bob LaMonte, a sports agent who works with NFL coaches, said, “When I talk to a winning coach on Monday morning, I often detect that his mood isn’t much different than that of a losing coach.”

For another, it’s a game of second chances. As I write this the Seattle Seahawks have just won the Super Bowl. The coach is Pete Carroll. Several years ago Pete coached the New York Jets and totally bombed out. He was criticized for his coaching skills. When he returned to the NFL as the Seahawks coach, he was criticized for his drafting skills. In fact, some said the 2012 draft proved he couldn’t coach. Needless to say, it was in that draft that he chose Russell Wilson, the current starting quarterback, along with a few others who were on the roster of the Super Bowl winning team.

Pete Carroll never gave up on himself.

Neither can you.

2.Surround yourself with people who have your back. You need at least one person who is going to hang with you and encourage you. For Mark it was Barnabas. Who is going to be your cheerleader? Who is going to go through the tough spots with you. Oprah once said, “Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”

How often do think about the company you keep? How often do you think of the influence they are having in your life? Are the people in your life the ones who will help you get to the winner’s circle?

Some are with you only because it’s convenient.

3.Add value to others. Near the end of his life Paul said Mark was helpful to his ministry. That is, Mark brought something to the table. Not only was Mark valuable to Paul, but Mark also spent time with Peter, another of the apostles (1 Peter 5:13). And we would all admit that the Gospel of Mark has added tremendous value over the years to millions of people.

Think of several ways you can add value to someone: Have a cup of coffee with someone and offer encouragement, spend time with someone, run an errand, etc. You could give someone you know a book on marriage, finances, ….Abraham Lincoln said, “The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who’ll get me a book I ain’t read.” The list is endless. Start today adding value to others.

Had Mark given up, Paul and Peter would have lost out. The world would have lost out. If you allow failure to define you as a loser, you will never make it to the winner’s circle.

We all carry the burden of not measuring up. That sense of not being good enough pops up at a very early age and follows us all through life.

A little girl starts out having princess birthday parties. She dresses up. She starts looking around and asking Am I pretty enough?

Then she becomes a teenager and asks Am I thin enough? In college she wonders Am I smart enough? When she moves along in her career she asks Am I successful enough? She gets married and her thoughts are Am I good enough? With the first child comes Am I providing enough?

The questions, the doubts, and the scarcity mindset flood our insecure minds. We jump on Facebook and Instagram and count up the number of likes. Do I have enough likes? Probably not. In fact, enough never is quite enough. So we continue to live in shame, insecurity, and self doubt.

What if there was some truth in the idea that we will never measure up? What if that was, in some ways, good news?

One of the more fascinating passages in the Bible is in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. Fascinating because this particular passage is right in the middle of several chapters of genealogies. Most skip these. After all they don’t tend to hold our attention very well.

There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request. (NLT)

Just two verses. But notice his attitude. He knew he was lacking and that was a good thing. It was that feeling of not being enough that drove Him to the Lord to ask for God’s blessing on his life. God has enough; actually, He has plenty. When I was a little boy I went to my dad because he had more than I did.

Before we get to Jabez, we have to read through forty-three other names. Why is Jabez given two verses? The writer of the book of Chronicles puts an emphasis on prayer in the book. Could it be that he stopped at Jabez because Jabez put an emphasis on prayer in his own life?

As a believer, one of the healthiest attitudes we can have is one of scarcity, which in turn leads us to an attitude of abundance because we have been driven to God in prayer. God’s abundant grace is available to those who pray. Our focus is taken off of ourselves and put on the Lord. That’s healthy.

Apparently Jabez’s life didn’t start out so well. We are not given the details and it really doesn’t matter. The family may have had very little, or perhaps his mother was a single mom, or maybe his mother died in childbirth.

Just as the writer of Chronicles did not focus on Jabez’ background, so it also doesn’t matter where you find yourself at this particular stage in your life. Perhaps you are living in an era of scarcity. Don’t let that discourage you. Let it drive you to prayer so that God can change your attitude to one of abundance.

That is what happened for Jabez. He began to ask God to bless him, enlarge his territory, and provide protection so that his life would never go back to a point where he was living without God’s help.

Let’s break this passage into three parts, which will lead to three action items–three things you need to do.

Oh, that you would bless me…

1. Pray every day for God’s abundance. It may be that you need more patience. Maybe it’s more kindness. We could all use a little more self control. I don’t know what you need to pray for, but when God invades your life and abundance is noticed, God is glorified.

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:8 (ESV)

For me my dad was my role model when it comes to work. Granted, he could be called a workaholic with total justification. And he did go overboard. Perhaps it had something to do with his childhood. He never finished the 8th grade, and his family was very poor with little indoor plumbing, if you know what I mean. Let’s just say that if you had to go to the bathroom in the winter time you made it quick!

However, he taught me some things that will always be a part of me.

Another person who I have admired from a distance is Jack Welch, the well known former CEO of GE. Once he was asked about the secret to success.

Without hesitating he unequivocally said, “Find out what your boss wants and then over-deliver.”

My dad personified that.

Here were a few of his work rules. I use the word rules because in my dad’s way of thinking this is simply the way it is. Any other approach was simply unacceptable.

1. Show up ten minutes early. Hit the ground running. Walk around and make sure everyone has what they need to start the day. We all know how easy it is to waste the first ten minutes of a work day.

2. Stay late. Walk around the job site and start planning for the next day. Even today successful business people suggest that one of their secrets to success is planning the next day the day before.

3. Know what your boss wants done. For those of us working for dad this was easy. He was more than very clear as to what he expected.

4. Then exceed those expectations. Here is how it played out for my dad. He was a crane operator in the steel erection business. While the guys were eating lunch my dad would wipe down the crane and keep it spotless. Put an emphasis on “spotless” and you get an idea of what I am talking about. That would exceed anyone’s expectations. And no one would ever expect you to do it during lunch!

5. Never lower the bar. My dad never did.

And one day someone noticed. Outside the company. When this particular person was looking for a business partner for his company, he thought of my dad. And my dad was offered an opportunity that changed his life.

My dad never set out to run and own his own business. It was the furthest thing from his mind. He didn’t set out to be different. He never set out to WOW others.

He just did those five things and he stood out at work. And it paid off in a big way. Anyone can do these five things. This week you can stand out at work.

Once again let’s gain some insight from the NFL Playoffs. Let me start by saying that everyone knows that Peyton Manning continually attempts to get the defensive line to jump with his unique style of calling signals.

In the San Diego/Denver game I’m sure that was talked about among the coaches and players. Easy enough. Or perhaps not so easy.

During the game the defensive line jumped into the neutral zone bringing upon themselves a five yard penalty. Not once, but several times.

Why? Lack of discipline.

Actually the game turned out to be decided by just seven points, one touchdown.

In a close game those multiply penalties absolutely kill you.

As I said in the last post just lacking in one of these areas in your personal PDA can kick your butt. Someone said, “If if could kick the person responsible for most of my problems I wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week.”

The defensive line still may not be sitting down!

This is not always as easy as it sounds. Typically there are several things in our day or week that we simply are not fond of doing.

That’s why it takes discipline.

We know what we need to do. San Diego knew they needed to be aware of the hard count and not jump.

Discipline is doing what needs to be done even though you don’t want to do it, so you can eventually do what you want to do.

Had San Diego not jumped off sides, they may be still playing. That’s what they wanted to do.

Discipline, or the lack of discipline kept them from their wants.

Today, identify just one thing that needs your attention and go out and do it.